ESPN star calling Travis Kelce's podcast 'stupid' is right, but so is 'First Take'

"First Take" and "New Heights" are probably more similar than both would like to admit as the Chiefs star is lambasted.

Nov. 23, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) looks on before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

As an avid consumer of podcasts and sports, I always wonder, who listens to "New Heights" or watches "First Take."

I've tried to watch and or listen to both, time after time, and call me crazy, but it's never something I can ever get through for completely different reasons.

RELATED: Patrick Mahomes' terrible injury eerily predicted in his ad with Chiefs trainer

Dec. 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) arrives at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium before a game against the Los Angeles Chargers. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

"First Take" is hot-take noise that is supposedly entertainment. "New Heights" feels like a PR machine driven by two charming brothers that nab great celebrity guests for softball interviews.

So while Travis Kelce's appearance on this week's episode of "New Heights" garnered headlines for whether he'll retire or not, his reaction to his Kansas City Chiefs best friend's, Patrick Mahomes, devastating ACL injury, the most entertaining thing that happened today for me is when worlds collided and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo came after the Kelce brothers on "First Take."

RELATED: Taylor Swift's bff Selena Gomez has perfect sad face at Travis Kelce's crushing loss

Jan. 29, 2023: Patrick Mahomes raises the Lamar Hunt Trophy while Travis Kelce celebrates after the Kansas City Chiefs' 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. | Sam Greene / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Is "New Heights" a "stupid podcast"?

Mar. 5, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland natives and NFL players Travis, right, and Jason Kelce celebrate after the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics during the second half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

In Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's "First Take" rant, in which he does fairly criticize Kelce, 36, for skipping out on his postgame media obligations yet again, throws major shade at "New Heights" as well: "I could care less about his stupid podcast… No serious sports fan listens to that nonsense anyway."

RELATED: Proving Travis Kelce was joking never getting into a fight with Taylor Swift

"I could care less about his stupid podcast…No serious sports fan listens to that nonsense anyway" - Chris Russo on Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights pic.twitter.com/5qYPMscnjJ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 17, 2025

Besides Russo's grammar slip up, "New Heights" defenders can also easily point to the fact that it's the No. 1 ranked sports podcast according to Spotify, which this user does in the comments.

pic.twitter.com/KwPkecmBU1

— Zaneday1 (@Rapsin6ixxxx) December 17, 2025

That's certainly true, but we have no idea how Spotify is measuring success of sports podcasts, and don't forget that Kelce had his fiancée, global icon Taylor Swift, on as a guest this year as a marketing master class to break news about her new album, "The Life of the Showgirl."

Jan. 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Recording artist Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) react after the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

That episode alone smashed all podcast records, so an outlier for sure. And it's always hard with podcasts to see analytics on loyal listening numbers.

Viral clips are the real commodity for "New Heights" and "First Take"

IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

The reason Travis, and his older brother, retired Eagles legend Jason Kelce, got $100 million from Amazon for "New Heights" is primarily because of the consistent hit rate of viral clips from their PR podcast. (Jason is also paid a hefty sum by ESPN as an NFL analyst, primarily on "Monday Night Countdown.")

The same goes for Stephen A. Smith and why he got $105 million from ESPN to drive the "First Take" franchise and the visibility of the network. That's the same exact reason the Worldwide Leader in Sports gave Pat McAfee $85 million. (To be fair to McAfee, he had already built up his own loyal audience, and ESPN does not own the rights to his show.)

Nov. 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith looks on before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

If it's not the actual beachfront property of the sports themselves, the only way you get noticed in the ultra competitive world of sports media consumption is through bite-sized clips that are beholden to social media algorithms that hopefully grow audience and build awareness for the brand.

So it can be argued both are "stupid," but those that make it, like the Kelce brothers and Stephen A., are laughing all the way to the bank.

Oct. 20, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; ESPN broadcaster Jason Kelce before the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. | David Reginek-Imagn Images

— Enjoy free dish of rich and fabulous players with The Athlete Lifestyle on SI —

Lane who?: Lane Kiffin’s wife Layla turns heads with thigh-high boots amid LSU drama

Yikes: Landry Kiffin’s bf Whit Weeks shows zero class after Lane leaves for LSU

Queen Ann: Drake Maye’s wife Ann Michael causes stir in workout fit selfie

First hot take: Ex-ESPN star explains why Molly Qerim got dumped by ‘First Take’

Stoppin’ traffic: Megan Thee Stallion’s NBA WAG leather fit has entire OKC arena staring